BEVERLY HILLS >> Manny Pacquiao and Timothy Bradley have their own reasons for wanting to face each other again, but both are confident their recently announced rematch is about revenge and redemption.

Pacquiao and Bradley met back in 2012, a bout Pacquiao won in the eyes of the boxing community. But the ringside judges scored it for Bradley in a decision that still causes a stir.

Pacquiao and Bradley met face to face for the first time Tuesday since that night of controversy, agreeing to a rematch April 12 in Las Vegas.

Pacquiao said he wanted the bout but has yet to really dispute the controversial decision.

“I was surprised, but I’m a gentle man,” Pacquiao said during a chaotic press conference at the Beverly Hills Hotel. “I have to respect the decision of the judges. It’s part of the game.”

The bout could be a defining moment for Bradley. No one has managed to defeat Pacquiao twice.

“To win a second fight against Manny Pacquiao will define everything I’ve done in boxing,” Bradley said. “It will make up for everything.”

Bradley was criticized heavily after receiving the decision against Pacquiao, even receiving death threats.

“This is for all the people,” Bradley said. “I have a win over Manny Pacquiao already. This is for the people. This is for the world. This is so I can walk down the street and people look at me and say, ‘Dang, you beat Pacquiao.’ And not say to me that I didn’t win it. That hurts me. It tears me apart.”

Bradley received the official victory on that night. But that was it.

“This is to clear up any controversy,” Bradley said. “This is what this rematch is about. It’s redemption for me. This is about getting what I didn’t get from the first fight — the credit for beating Manny Pacquiao.”

Pacquiao has had two fights since the loss to Bradley, losing in historic fashion to Juan Manuel Marquez and then rebounding with a decision over Brandon Rios.

The impressive outing against Rios immediately paved the way for another fight with Bradley.

“I need to prove to the people that I want to fight and this gives me that chance,” Pacquiao said. “I really believe I won the fight. I expected the decision from the judges.”

A dramatic KO defeat to Marquez, however, forced fans to question just how much Pacquiao has left in his career. The spirited effort against Rios silenced most of those doubters.

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“I believe the last fight, against Rios, proved it for me,” Pacquiao said.

Pacquiao, however, didn’t go for the kill against Bradley and was unable to finish off Marquez. And his bout with Rios went the distance.

“Sometimes I am too nice to my opponents,” Pacquiao said.

Bradley is a different fighter since their first bout, Pacquiao said.

“He has improved a lot,” Pacquiao said. “We saw that in the last two fights. That is why I say it will be a good fight.”

The Bradley rematch arrives at a key moment for Pacquiao — he still hopes to get a shot at Floyd Mayweather and Marquez has expressed interest in facing the winner of Pacquiao-Bradley II.